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Archive for September 24th, 2008

Several readers have pointed to a blog posting at Wellington Financial that reports that Bell is planning to interfere with the GPS signal of late-model Blackberry units. Users will reportedly experience long delays in establishing a GPS connection when using free mapping applications like Google Maps. Bell offers a competing […]

My weekly technology law column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) focuses on open access in Canada. Last week, Liberal leader Stephane Dion committed to substantial increases to Canada's federal research funding in a major speech on education and research at the University of Western Ontario. The Liberal promise – which comes on the heels of increased Conservative support for the federal research granting councils in the 2008 budget – reflects a growing all-party emphasis on the link between research support and economic performance. While the research and business communities will undoubtedly welcome the increased financial commitment, it is worth contrasting the Canadian emphasis on more spending, with the Australian approach on greater access to the research itself. Australian Senator Kim Carr, who serves as the Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, recently committed to "promote the freest possible flow of information domestically and globally."

The Canadian Ministers of Education, Canada have reaffirmed its support for an Internet exception under the Copyright Act, calling on all parties to support such an amendment in any future copyright bill.

The Government of New Zealand has introduced legislation to amend the photographer commissioner rule (similar reforms were proposed in C-61). It has also launched a consultation on establishing a fair dealing exception for parody and satire, two exceptions that remain unaddressed in Canada.